Proto-High Guard 5, take three

[pendragonman]

If he had a first class Navy, they'd have openly challenged the RN for control of the North Sea, instead of trying a policy of attrition by trying to catch out a portion of it.

You don't have to base your naval policy on a gamble; Jeune Ecole was a very viable policy, since it was based on new tactics and technology being able to overcome or neutralize current enemy superiority, the Germans went for Sumo Wrestling instead of Judo.

His equipment was, on a ship for ship basis, better than the Royal Navy. It was a matter of quantity.

The Jutland maneuver was a Jeune Ecole move. The issue was that those of higher rank than Scheer were more traditionalists, and couldn't stand getting their pretty toys dinged up when they already knew the RN had more toys.

 

[Condottiere]

Ship design is a series of compromises, their battlewagons were one trick ponies meant to operate principally in the North Sea, accepting a smaller gun in exchange for more protection, and a somewhat cavalier attitude on part of the British in overstuffing their ships with ammunition and taking short cuts with safety procedure.

The German return on investment in their battle fleet was rather poor.